Conversions net pre-war condos

In Looking for a Pre-War Condo? The Search Is Getting Easier, the NY Sun explains that traditional conversions as well as recent hotel conversions have increased the inventory of pre-war condominiums.

An influx of available pre-war condominiums is reconfiguring city’s purchasing landscape, in which would-be homeowners pining after crown moldings, high ceilings, and herringbone floors have had little choice but to buy shares in cooperatives.

With well more than 1,000 pre-war units in former rental, hotel, and commercial buildings coming on the market over the next couple of years, buyers wishing to bypass co-op board red tape will no longer be forced to resign themselves to putting down roots in post-war or contemporary buildings.

Bernanke says RE downturn is orderly, but Fannie and Freddie at risk

The New York Times reports Bernanke Calls Housing Downturn ‘Orderly’.

“The downturn in the housing market so far appears to be orderly,” Mr. Bernanke said during a hearing before the House Financial Services Committee.

One of the things that Mr. Bernanke and his Fed colleagues are keeping close tabs on is the extent to which a housing slowdown will dampen overall economic activity.

But he also signaled problems with the two federal mortgage lenders.

Mr. Bernanke said that the large holdings of the mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac did “present a systemic risk” to the nation’s financial system.

He previously has called on Congress to restrict their holdings.

Vacancies are up!

The Real Deal reports Manhattan rental vacancy rate rises.

The vacancy rate for Manhattan rental apartments inched upward in June from May, reversing a downward spiral that had analysts declaring the arrival of the tightest Manhattan rental market so far this decade.

The overall Manhattan rental vacancy rate was 0.56 percent in June, according to a report released Monday by brokerage Citi Habitats, an increase over the May rate of 0.43 percent.

New condos a plenty

The NY Times studies the staggering number of new condo apps on file and asks Are There Enough Buyers to Go Around?

Not only are there thousands of condos currently on the market, but a review of building plans submitted by developers to the state attorney general’s office shows that this building binge has not yet slowed down and may produce a supply of new apartments that could be around for a while.

So far, applications have been submitted for more than 24,000 condominium apartments since January 2004, 7,000 of them in the first half of this year alone. This increase in filings comes as supply in the current market has been rising steadily, with broker listings nearly doubling since 2004. And since many developers list only a sampling of apartments in new buildings, the numbers of apartments available for sale is probably significantly larger than the inventory listed with brokers.

Mortgage delinquencies not rising

The NY Times reports that the Mortgage Bankers Association data shows almost no significant changes in Keeping Delinquencies at Bay

Late last month, the association released figures showing that in the first three months of this year, delinquencies on one- to four-unit residential properties rose slightly from the same period a year earlier, to 4.41 percent from 4.31 percent, but dropped slightly from late 2005, when delinquencies reached 4.7 percent. Delinquencies are defined as loans 30 days past due.